While Juno Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:JUNO) rides a positive tide following an abstract release from The American Society of Hematology (ASH), shares are rising close to 4% with bolstered investor confidence in the firm’s CAR T cell product candidate JCAR017. As such, Dane Leone at BTIG steps forward to the sidelines, upgrading from a Sell to a Neutral rating on JUNO without suggesting a price target.

The analyst explains, “We upgrade shares of Juno to Neutral from Sell, as the stock price has hit our target price and the ASH abstract release showed similar response rates for JCAR017 versus Kite’s (KITE, Neutral) KTE-C19 in the treatment of patients with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma. We continue to think that Sell-side estimates for the CD19 CAR T class are too high, but acknowledge that Buy-side expectations are more inline with our model.”

However, overall, Leone remains cautious, contending, “Ambiguity of effectiveness within chemo refractory population remains: The JCAR017 dataset in DLBCL is small, and 10 of 11 patients within the response group had undergone prior transplant. That said, some patients included were refractory to additional therapy posttransplant relapse. Either way, we still lack data on response rates in the worst r/rDLBCL group, which is also the largest patient population.”

According to TipRanks, which measures analysts’ and bloggers’ success rate based on how their calls perform, five-star analyst Dane Leone is ranked #390 out of 4,164 analysts. Leone has a 59% success rate and gains 6.0% in his yearly returns. When recommending JUNO, Leone earns 25.8% in average profits on the stock.

TipRanks analytics indicate JUNO as a Strong Buy. Based on 5 analysts polled in the last 3 months, 4 rate a Buy on JUNO, while 1 maintains a Hold. The 12-month price target stands at $54.00, marking a 130% upside from where the shares last closed.